Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The chairman of the South Carolina GOP released court documents Wednesday that he said puts Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen in a bad light.

The documents detail some criminal cases that Sheheen was hired to take during his time as a lawyer..

In one case, Sheheen represented a sex offender who abused a minor, and court papers show he negotiated the man's sentence from ten years to 38 days.

SCGOP Chairman Matt Moore says while he believes everyone has the right to vigorous representation, he says Sheheen needs to make better choices on who he will defend

"In this case, Sheheen has made a choice to defend these people," Moore said. "He wasn't court appointed. He took a paycheck to represent the worst of the worst. He could have chose not to. And to be out there campaigning and saying he stands for women and families it's just false. He has no business being governor of this state."

Sheheen's campaign issued this statement that on the SCGOP's claims that reads in part the following:

"As a former prosecutor, Vincent has seen what families and victims go through and he has worked to hold criminals accountable...[Governor Nikki] Haley and the SCGOP should focus less on misrepresenting Sen. Sheheen's record and get to work stopping more deaths at her Department of Social Services."